


Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks

by literally_no_idea



Series: Decking Howard [7]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 12:05:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18249500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literally_no_idea/pseuds/literally_no_idea
Summary: The readings Bruce is seeing don’t make any sense whatsoever, but they’re coming from Tony’s workshop, so he just watches the readings to see if they stop, but they don’t, so Bruce goes down to see if Tony’s okay. He’s definitely not prepared for what he finds. Tony’s sitting silently on the couch in the corner of the workshop, and he’s sitting on his hands, perfectly still. Wandering around the workshop is Howard Stark himself, looking at all of the materials Tony has lying around.--title from the Panic! at the Disco song of the same name





	Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome back to the series, or if you're new here, welcome! Each part of the series is a standalone story, so you can read them alone or in whatever order you like, etc. Enjoy!

The readings Bruce is seeing don’t make any sense whatsoever, but they’re coming from Tony’s workshop, so he just watches the readings to see if they stop, but they don’t, so Bruce goes down to see if Tony’s okay. He’s definitely not prepared for what he finds. Tony’s sitting silently on the couch in the corner of the workshop, and he’s sitting on his hands, perfectly still. Wandering around the workshop is Howard Stark himself, looking at all of the materials Tony has lying around.

 

When Tony spots Bruce, he hops up from the couch, racing over to his friend, shoulders drooping in relief. “Brucie! Something cool going on in the world of science? Because I’d love to hear about it!” Howard spins on his heel to face them, and he smiles, but it’s more frightening than comforting to Bruce.

 

“Dr. Banner, isn’t it? Your work is far beyond that of anyone else in your field, and the number of PhDs you have is truly amazing. Nine, correct? Tony apparently only has two, but what’s seven PhDs between friends?” The words make Tony tense up again, breath coming in short, hitching inhales.

 

“Yeah, Bruce is an amazing scientist and brilliant person to work with. We actually figured out a way to trace the tesseract together, you know, the thing Captain America was trying to get from Hydra back in World War Two?” Bruce can tell how anxious Tony is just from how still the man is. Tony’s only ever that still when he’s panicked and when he’s asleep, and even in his sleep he frequently thrashes his way through nightmares or wakes up in a cold sweat, wide eyed and out of breath.

 

“Well, with a man as brilliant as Dr. Banner, I can’t imagine anything less than perfection, regardless of any hindrances he might have had to deal with during the process.” The slight at Tony is obvious, and Tony clearly gets it, because he gives an almost imperceptible nod, stepping away from Bruce and Howard.

 

“Right. I’ll, uh, leave you two to talk then.” Tony’s out of the workshop and gone almost before Bruce can blink.

 

Rather than seeming upset by this series of events, Howard seems pleased. “So, Dr. Banner, I actually have a number of questions for you, if you don’t mind--”

 

“Why would you talk about him like that?” Bruce interrupts, and Howard’s eyebrows furrow.

 

“What do you mean? We both know it’s true, and Anthony knows it too. It would be ridiculous to lie.” Bruce is pissed, and he’s not sure what to say, but Howard just keeps talking. “Besides, he’s surrounded by actual superheroes, so he already knows he isn’t the most important one.”

 

Bruce has Howard in a chokehold before he can process what he’s doing, but when he realizes what he’s done, he can’t find any part of him that’s upset about it. “Keep talking, I will snap your neck without changing a fucking shade,” he threatens, and Howard stays silent. Bruce lets go, pushing Howard away from him.

 

“Tony is the best thing to happen to this team. He’s the reason we even  _ have _ a team. So you can be a piece of shit about it, and refuse to get over your grudge towards your own goddamn child, or you can just fucking leave. Go home. I came down here because of strange readings, which I’m guessing was you getting here however you got here, but it’s time for you to go away again. Don’t come back.”

 

Howard looks like he’s going to say something, so Bruce punches him, lands the punch just above Howard’s right ear. He brings his elbow down on top of Howard’s shoulder, dropping Howard to his knees. “Didn’t I already mention that I didn’t want to hear what you had to say? Because I don’t need to be green to see red. Leave. Or I will personally murder you where you stand.”

 

Bruce turns on his heel and leaves the workshop, on a new mission. He finds Tony on Tony’s personal floor, curled up in bed with a bottle of vodka, a bottle of bourbon, and a bottle of Vistaril anti anxiety medication beside him. Tony’s crying, shaking so badly that the whole bed is moving with him, and he doesn’t even seem to notice Bruce enter the room. “Tony,” Bruce calls from the doorway, not willing to intrude on Tony’s personal space without permission; the last thing Tony needs right now is someone forcing him into something he’s not comfortable with.

 

“You can come in,” Tony says, as if reading Bruce’s mind, and Bruce comes all the way into the room, walking over to crouch beside the bed and hold a hand out for Tony to take if he wants to.

 

“How are you holding up after that?” Bruce asks, and Tony shrugs, burying his face in his pillow but taking Bruce’s hand in his own.

 

“Not great. I didn’t… I forgot how much of an effect he had on me.” Tony whispers the last part like he’s confessing to a crime.

 

“Tony, he abused you. You’re allowed to be affected by it, especially when he shows up out of nowhere.”

 

Tony shakes his head, clutching Bruce’s hand tighter and tighter, other hand twitching on the bed towards the bottles of alcohol, but he doesn’t actually grab them. “He wasn’t… It wasn’t like that. It wasn’t that bad.”

 

“Tony, I was abused too. I know what it looks like. I know that you’ll make up any excuse to feel like you’re at fault for it, and I know that it hurts like fuck to accept, but what I just saw? That’s abuse. That’s someone treating you like you don’t deserve to breathe. Like you have to earn your right to oxygen. You don’t, Tony. You don’t have to prove your value to someone to be worthy of existing.”

 

Tony’s crying again by the time Bruce is done talking, and Bruce just holds his hand through it, stays crouched by the bed and tries to be as much of a comforting presence as he hopes he can be. Tony lets go of Bruce’s hand, sniffling and wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. “I guess. I don’t know. It’s just. It’s a lot. Is he gone, by the way? JARVIS?”

 

“He seems to have disappeared similar to how he appeared, Sir,” JARVIS answers.

 

Bruce stands, moving the bottles of alcohol out of Tony’s reach and holding his hand out again. “Come on, drink hot chocolate and watch Pokémon with me? I think there’s still a few of Steve’s cookies left over in the kitchen on the communal floor, too.”

 

Tony shakes his head in disbelief, but he takes Bruce’s hand, standing up. “Why you enjoy Pokémon so much is beyond me, but sure, why not. I don’t think I’m going to get any work done tonight anyway, might as well make the most of the time.”

 

They watch Pokémon and drink hot chocolate for hours on end until Tony falls asleep on the communal floor couch. Bruce grabs the throw blanket off the back of the couch, drapes it over Tony, and then heads back to his own floor of the tower. And if anyone notices Tony stumble off of the couch the next morning and grab coffee with eyes red from something other than sleep deprivation, no one mentions it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
